Spiritual Awakening and other Essays

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 81

Apabhramśa. Hindi has inherited all its literary forms from Apabhraíba. The regional languages such as Sindhī, Punjabī, Marāthī, Gujarātī, Rājasthānī, Biharī, Udiyā, Bangalī, Asami and the like have grown from the soil of Apabhramsa language and literature.99
As regards Jaina literature in Tamil, it is not a mere accident that the best literature, known as the Sangama literature, of the ancient Tamil country was the creation of the Jaina scholars. The two great works, Kural and Nāladiyār are the compositions of Jaina authors.100 Of the five major Kāvyas, the three, namely, Jivaka Cintāmaņi, Silappadikāram and Valaiyāpati are by Jaina writers.101 Jīvaka Cintāmani is the greatest existing Tamil literary monument. 102 Besides, all the five minor Kāvyas were also composed by Jaina authors.103 Tolkāppiyam, the earliest Tamil grammar, Nannūl, the most popular grammar in Tamil language and the works on Tamil lexicography-all these were written by Jaina authors.104 We may conclude by saying that Jainism prevailed in the South from before the Sangama period (350 BC to 20 A.D.) of Tamil literary history.
Regarding the Kannada language, we may say, "The Jainas have undoubtedly been the foremost cultivators of the Kannada language from the inception of its literary history which is traced back to the 4th - 5th century A.D. by the end of the 10th century, they had made it a well established literary language."105 Professro R. Narsimhachari observes, "The earliest cultivators of the language were Jainas. The oldest works of any extent and value that have come down to us are all from the pen of the Jainas.106
Jaina authors in Kannada are far more numerous than in Tamil. To name only a few, we have, Pampa, Ponna,
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Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays For Personal & Private Use Only